Published on Wednesday 21 September 2011 12:00
THE Vale of York Viking hoard returned to the district in which it was discovered last week, when it went on display at Harrogate’s Mercer Art Gallery.
The treasure, which will be on loan to the gallery until January 15, was found in 2007 by father-and-son David and Andrew Whelan.
They were metal detecting somewhere north of Harrogate - though the location has not been disclosed to prevent the area from being swamped by treasure hunters.
The exhibition is part of a partnership between the British Museum and York Museums Trust.
It is titled Hester Cox: Artist’s Impression, A Printmaker’s Response to the Vale of York Viking Hoard.
Ms Cox, a printmaker from North Yorkshire, created a set of new prints inspired by the hoard after she was given access to it.
She said: “My printmaking always involves layering, and I like the idea that my work offers a starting point for different stories.
“I think that the Vale of York Hoard does the same thing, with all of its layers of connections to history and mystery.”
The treasure was found packed inside a single gilt siver receptacle lined with gold, variously described as a cup, bowl or pot, which the finders were commended for not unpacking - enabling the maximum amount of information to be recovered about the story of the hoard.
The cup’s contents were then painstakingly excavated by conservators at the British Museum, who found an extremely well preserved mixture of gold and silver jewellery, ornaments, coins, ingots and other precious metals.
The hoard is made up of objects from as far afield as central Asia in the east and Ireland in the west, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.
In total it includes 617 silver coins, 65 other silver objects and a single gold arm ring.
The coins help to date the burial of the treasure acurately to AD 927 or AD 928.
It has been named by the British Museum as one of the most important finds of its time in Britain for more than 150 years.
